Internships

Under certain circumstances, it is possible to earn course credits
for working on projects with educational value in an industrial
setting. If eligible, students can take up to two internship
opportunities for three credits each.

Internship Qualifications

To qualify for an internship, a student must meet the following qualifications. The student must be in good academic standing. To be in good academic standing, a student cannot be on probation, must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and must have successfully completed at least 66% of courses attempted. Students not in good academic standing will not be approved for internship opportunities.

For full-time students, students must have successfully completed two semesters of full-time graduate course work before the internship is to begin. If you are a transfer student, we will consider your graduate course work at your previous institution towards this requirement, as long as it was in a related field. For full-time students enrolled in the PAC, we will count these courses towards the requirement, as long as a student is enrolled for at least nine credits each semester. Please note that the two full-time semesters must be completed before you can begin your internship. However, you can apply while still completing your second semester. For example, if you begin your studies in the fall semester, you will have completed two semesters at the end of the spring semester. As such, you would potentially qualify for a summer internship. While you would not be able to work until the summer semester, you could and are encouraged to apply during the spring semester.

For part-time students, students must have successfully completed six graduate courses before the internship is to begin. If you are a transfer student, we will consider your graduate course work at your previous institution towards this requirement, as long as it was in a related field. Please note that the sixth graduate course must be completed before you can begin your internship. However, you can apply while still completing your sixth course. For example, if you are enrolled in your sixth course in the spring semester, you would potentially qualify for a summer internship. While you would not be able to work until the summer semester, you could and are encouraged to apply during the spring semester.

Students who are working in full-time positions are eligible to apply for internship credits for their current jobs, as long as they meet all of the qualifications and agree to the evaluation process.

The job responsibilities of the internship will be reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) or by the Associate Director of Graduate Studies for the CS Master's program in Information Systems. The internship should be educational in nature and should be consistent with the goals and educational mission of the master's program. The description of the work will be evaluated to determine if it qualifies to be counted as graduate level course work.

Transfer Credits and Internship Eligibility

Master's students are able to transfer up to nine credits of graduate course work, as approved by the DGS and the Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science. Students who transfer nine credits will not be eligible for any internship opportunities. Students who transfer six credits will be eligible for one internship opportunity. Students who transfer three credits will be eligible for two internship opportunities. This rule applies for both MSCS and MSIS students.

9 transfer credits = eligible for 0 internship opportunity

6 transfer credits = eligible for 1 internship opportunity

3 transfer credits = eligible for 2 internship opportunities

Relevant Graduate Courses and Internship Eligibility

As part of their degree requirements, MSCS students have the potential to
take relevant graduate courses outside of Courant. Potentially, they can take
up to nine credits of courses outside of Courant, dependent upon the approval
of the DGS. MSCS students should note that these credits apply to the same area
that internship credits and transfer credits do. This is the area on the MSCS
Degree Requirement Form that deals with the remaining nine credits that
students need to complete for the degree. If a student fills those credit
options up with relevant graduate courses, or any of the other options, the
student will not be eligible for an internship.

The internship application process takes time. After an application is
received, the student's academic record is reviewed to determine if the student
qualifies for an internship. If the student does qualify, the potential
supervisor is sent an e-mail to confirm the job description and to review the
evaluation process. Once the supervisor responds, the application is sent to
the DGS or the Associate Director of Graduate Studies for the CS Master's
program in Information Systems for consideration. Once a decision is made, the
student is e-mailed to let him or her know the status of the request.

Students who are approved for internship credit will register for CSCI-GA
3870-001 Internship in Computer Science:

Participation in a programming project or research project conducted outside the university in a governmental, commercial, or academic setting. Open only to graduate students with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Students must submit a brief written description of their work to the DGS before starting the internship and submit a written summary of their work when it is completed. MS students may repeat this course a maximum of two times.

The approval process is a lengthy one that requires many steps. Students
should allow for at least two weeks before a decision is made. Be sure to plan
accordingly and apply as soon as possible.

Evaluation Internship Report Guidelines

All students are required to submit a report at the end of their
internships. The report must be at least 6 pages in length (not including the
cover page). The report should be written in your own words. One should treat
the report as a professional, scholarly document. This means proper citations
must be given if text is taken from a company website, trade brochures, or any
other public sources. The report will count towards 20% of the internship
grade. All reports must be approved by the student’s supervisor. Students
can either have the supervisor sign off on a hard copy version of the report or
can forward an e-mail to their advisor from the supervisor stating that the
report has been read and approved.

The report should follow the following format:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover PageThe following information must be provided on the first page. It should
be centered in the middle of the page:

Name

Student ID Number

Degree Program (MSCS or MSIS)

Internship Semester and Year

Employer and Employer Location

Supervisor Name and E-mail

Disclaimer: This report is submitted to NYU’s Computer Science Department for the sole purpose of assigning an internship grade. The information remains confidential and proprietary to the company.

2. AbstractAn abstract is not an introduction, it is a brief (50-70 words) summary
of your report.

3.
Introduction Explain which company you interned with, where
the facility was located, what the business of the company is, the area you
worked in and the main emphasis of your internship.

4. Discussion of
ProjectsDiscuss in detail the areas of responsibility
you had to deal with during your internship. Although this is an overview of
your internship experience, include technical details about the projects you
worked on. How many lines of code? What technologies, languages, tools,
systems were used? Discuss the significance of your efforts relative to the
company’s operations.

5. Summary and
ConclusionsSummarize your work and learning experience.
Explain how the internship either reinforced or changed your career goals.
Discuss any new perspectives you obtained because of this experience. Elaborate
on the benefits you realized from the internship. Did you face any challenges
or difficulties in your assignments? How did you solve these issues? In what
ways did you apply what you have learned in your graduate courses to the
internship? What NYU courses have been helpful? What useful skills could NYU
have provided for you? What curriculum additions or changes would you suggest
as a result of your experiences?

Supervisor Evaluation

The supervisor must also complete an evaluation of the student. Supervisors
can either complete the departmental evaluation form they are given or they can
submit their own evaluation form. The department will contact the supervisor
directly to provide the evaluation tool and further instructions.

Students who are requesting internship credit for their full-time jobs
should note that they will still need to create a report that is approved by
the supervisor and must have the supervisor submit an evaluation on their
performance, even if they are already being evaluated as a full-time
employee.

A student will not receive a grade in the course until all required
internship materials are submitted.

Additional Guidelines for Students

For Employers:

Additional Guidelines for International Students

International students interested in internships for course credit can
utilize Curricular Practical Training (CPT), if eligible. Students should
review the requirements and qualifications for CPT on the NYU Office of Global Services (OGS)
website. Getting authorization through OGS take additional time.
Students should be sure to apply early for their internships.